


Dance with a Smile

by through_shadows_falling



Series: Supernatural Ficlets [9]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Contra Dancing, Dancing, Fluff, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 02:07:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3592266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/through_shadows_falling/pseuds/through_shadows_falling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Aw come on, brother, it’ll be fun,” were Benny’s final, convincing words, and before Dean knew it, he had agreed. Now, on this blustery Saturday night, he found himself at a church with a large dance hall and wooden floor. A trio of musicians was setting up on stage – two violins and a piano player – and dancers were mingling all around, chatting loudly. There were maybe 25-30 people in all, and Dean inhaled a nervous breath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance with a Smile

“Aw come on, brother, it’ll be fun,” were Benny’s final, convincing words, and before Dean knew it, he had agreed. Now, on this blustery Saturday night, he found himself at a church with a large dance hall and wooden floor. A trio of musicians was setting up on stage – two violins and a piano player – and dancers were mingling all around, chatting loudly. There were maybe 25-30 people in all, and Dean inhaled a nervous breath.

“Relax,Dean. You’ll be fine,” Andrea, Benny’s wife, promised. Of course, she was allowed to say that because she and Benny had been contra dancing for a while. They went to this particular hall often, too, as they were instantly hailed by people when they entered.

“Are you sure I don’t need a partner?” Dean asked.

“Yep,” Benny said. “I guarantee you someone will ask you to dance.”

“Even if I suck?”

“Everyone’s gotta start somewhere, brother,” Benny said, clapping him on the back. He and Andrea headed over to speak to a group of older men and women, and Dean escaped to the bathroom.

When he emerged, the dance line was already forming. People had paired up, and Dean hesitated at the side, wondering what to do.

“Would you like to dance?” came a male’s voice, and Dean turned to a white man with tousled brown hair and kind blue eyes. He offered his hand.

“Oh, um, I’m new…” Dean said.

“Perfect. Welcome. I’m Cas.”

“I’m Dean.”

“Shall we?” Cas asked, extending his hand until Dean took it.

“So I’m the girl I guess?” Dean said, though it was obvious that it wouldn’t be a problem. There were several same-sex pairings in the room, and some of them were clearly together. Hell, there were even a few men in skirts.

Cas smiled. “It’s easier to learn when you’re not the lead right away. Or would you rather switch? I can do both, though it’s been awhile.”

“Oh, uh, no that’s fine.”

“Great. So the key is to put weight behind your movements.” Cas clasped his hand and lifted it up. “When we swing, you put your other hand on my shoulder blade, just like that. Now don’t let your other arm get loose. It’ll help with balance if you put some weight into it.”

Dean followed Cas’s instructions. “Like this?”

“Exactly. And with your feet, you want to walk forward, but quickly. When you’re more comfortable, you can trot a little and push off with your left foot. It allows you to go faster.”

“Right. Okay. I got it.”

“The most important thing is to keep smiling. And if you make a mistake, just keep moving in the same direction. You don’t want to just stop, as that will make the dance very difficult for everyone else.”

Dean swallowed as Cas let him go so they could stand opposite each other in two lines. The caller picked up the mic and led them through the first few steps. People practiced slowly, and Dean focused hard, following everyone else’s movements and failing to understand some parts. He could only hope he’d get the hang of it.

When they returned to their starting positions, Cas indicated his own smile and waggled his eyebrows, causing Dean to grin.

“Exactly,” Cas called, and then they were off.

The music was upbeat, and the whole room vibrated with excitement. Dean’s first few moves were clumsy, but he started to get it by the third or fourth repetition. It helped that whenever he and Cas passed each other, Cas told him what was coming up.

“Allemande left! Now we’re going to swing!” Dean held onto Cas as they spun around. “See? You’re getting it. Loosen up your hand a little bit, and make sure you grip from the top.”

“Okay,” Dean said, blinking.

“If you feel like you’re getting dizzy, focus on a person’s eyebrows or eyes.”

Dean pointedly met Cas’s eyes, making him smile even wider, but then they had to break apart for the next move.

All in all, the first dance was pretty easy to pick up. The few times Dean got lost, Cas was always there to pick him up or tell him what to do. A few others did the same, helpfully reminding him of the steps as he and Cas moved down the line. It was pretty amazing, actually, because there were dancers of all levels participating. Some, like Dean, made mistakes but kept smiling, while others were so skilled that they added extra spins and dips to their routines. It was invigorating, and when the dance ended, he approached Cas, breathless.

“That was awesome!”

“Great job on your first contra dance,” Cas said. “Thank you for the dance.”    

"Thank you for teaching me.”

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and Dean spun around to speak to a young Hispanic woman with long black hair.

“Do you have a partner for the next dance?”

“Oh, I—” Dean turned back only to see that Cas had disappeared. “I guess I don’t. Do you mind leading? I’m new to this whole thing.”

“No problem. I’m Ellie.”

“Dean.”

“Cool. So what brought you here tonight?” Ellie asked as they walked over to the line that was just starting to form.

“My friend Benny and his wife.”

“Oh! Benny! He and Andrea come here all the time. That’s great that he dragged you along. It’s fun, isn’t it?” She grinned and Dean nodded with one of his own.

“Yeah. I just hope I don’t end up killing someone.”

Ellie threw back her head with a laugh. “Oh, I think you’ll find it hard to knock anyone off their feet!”

The next dance was slightly more complicated. When he and Ellie were the odd couple out and had to wait a round to come back in, Dean had Ellie show him how to hold her for the promenade.

“Put your other arm there so I can grab it…yeah, there you go. Oh, come on, we’re back in.”

By the time the dance ended, Dean was sure he was still doing the promenade thing wrong, but hell, he was having way too much fun to care. He’d get it…eventually!

“How’s it going, brother?” Benny asked as Dean went to where they had stored their water bottles.

“It’s awesome.”

“Told ya you’d like it. Oh, hey, Cas,” Benny said as the other man approached.

“Benny, good to see you.” Cas’s gaze landed on Dean. “Dean, I was wondering if you’d allow me to teach you the waltz when we get to it? The band usually plays one around 9:30.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sounds good.”

Cas winked at him and Dean blushed. Before he could say anything, Cas had vanished back into the throng. Dean caught Benny glancing at him.

“Oh shut up.”

“Mmhmm.”

Dean rolled his eyes and accepted an offer to dance from a black man with bushy eyebrows. As they danced, Dean nicknamed him ‘Groovy Man’ since he was constantly grooving and adding flair to the steps with clapping and twirls. There was stomping in this routine, and Dean struggled to stay in beat. Thankfully, Groovy Man was on his a-game and coached Dean through it. The hardest part was swinging fast enough to then get back in a line with everyone else. Dean always got the timing off and rushed to grab his neighbor’s hand.

Cas asked Dean to dance for the next one and didn’t hesitate to show off his moves. He purposely twirled Dean extra, making Dean laugh when he kept turning the wrong way.

“It’s always over your right!” Cas said.

“I know!”

Dean had to sit the next one out since Cas’s extra spins made him dizzy, but then he danced with a white guy named Aaron, who was, for lack of a better word, ridiculous. Every time they had to swing, Aaron would dramatically turn his head to face Dean, almost like they were doing a tango.

“All you need is a rose in your mouth!” Dean laughed.

A few dances later came the waltz, and Cas arrived to teach Dean as promised.

“It’s a 1-2-3 step, forward and back. Just let me lead.”

Dean complied as best he could, and was surprised at how fast he settled into the rhythm.

“Excellent! See how our knees keep touching? That means we’re doing it right.”

Cas was an amazing partner. When the music swelled, he spun Dean in a powerful motion that felt like something Dean had only seen on TV. He never thought he’d be able to replicate it in real life without prior training, and he smiled so hard that his cheeks hurt.

“Man, it’s crazy how much power you leads have. You could fling us out into the dance floor so easily,” Dean said as the dance wound down.

“Yes, but a good lead is always there to catch his partner. He should never just release them.”

“You’re really good at this. How long have you been contra dancing?”

“A few years now. It helped me get out of a rut.”

Dean nodded and wanted to keep talking, but they were already setting up for the next dance.

“I promised my friend Meg the next dance, so I’ll see you,” Cas said as he walked over to a dark, curly-haired woman. Dean’s eyes left him when he was approached by a small redhead.

“Care to dance, good sir?” she asked with a bow.

“I’d love to.”

The rest of the night passed in a blur. Nearer the end of the evening, Dean was with a partner who was not as experienced as his previous few, and they both got so confused that the caller actually came off-stage to personally guide them. Dean didn’t feel too bad though, as it wasn’t like people got angry at them for messing up. Instead, they were still constantly trying to help, pointing them in the right direction. Dean remembered Cas’s instructions and kept smiling and moving, and when the dance finished, he and his partner had a great laugh at their colossal flop.

“That’s alright. Corners are tricky even for experienced dancers,” Andrea said when she and Benny joined Dean at the end. It was funny because Dean had gotten so sucked in, that he hadn’t even danced with Benny or Andrea the whole night. As they packed up their things, Dean glanced around for Cas and then shot a quick look to Benny.

“You guys planning on getting drinks at the Roadhouse?”

Benny and Andrea exchanged looks.

“Yeah, sure,” she said. “Shall we meet you there?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah. See ya in a sec!” He dashed over to Cas, who was almost out the door. “Hey, Cas, wait!”

Cas turned and Dean pulled him off to the side. Dean’s face flushed, and he hoped that Cas would interpret that as the result of physical exertion.

“So, me and Benny are getting drinks at the Roadhouse. Wanna come? You and if you came with anybody.”

“No, I came by myself. And I’d love to.”

“Yeah? Cool. Need a ride? I gotta warn ya – it’s pretty sweet.”

“Oh?” Cas said, his eyebrow raised, and Dean prattled on about his car as they trickled into the parking lot, and then the Roadhouse.

When Dean got back to his apartment that night, he fell asleep with a smile, his body exhausted but some deep part of him satisfied and so glad Benny had convinced him to go.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So I went contra dancing for the first time a few weekends ago. Dean’s experience is basically my own, with a few embellishments! Also, my Cas was a nice old man named Barry, haha! Check out contra dancing if you ever get the chance - it’s super fun!


End file.
